DUBAI: Two UAE-based firms, accused of providing material support to Iranian carrier Mahan Air, have come under sanctions by the US, according to the US Treasury Department.
In a statement, the Treasury Department said Parthia Cargo and Delta Parts Supply FZC provided key parts and logistics services for Mahan Air, which is blacklisted under US measures. The department also slapped sanctions on Amin Mahdavi, a UAE-based Iranian national, for owning or controlling Parthia Cargo.
“Together, these companies have provided key parts and logistics services for Mahan Air, which is designated under counterterrorism authorities for support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), as well as under a counter proliferation authority that targets weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters,” said a statement on the Treasury website.
“The Iranian regime uses Mahan Air as a tool to spread its destabilising agenda around the world, including to the corrupt regimes in Syria and Venezuela,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “The United States will continue to take action against those supporting this airline,” he added.
Wednesday’s action freezes any US assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. The Treasury said services provided by the two blacklisted companies help Mahan Air sustain its fleet and allow it to carry out activities in support of Tehran. These include transporting “terrorists and lethal cargo to Syria” in support of President Bashar Al Assad and recently transporting Iranian technicians and technical equipment to Venezuela, the department said.
Criminal charges were filed against Parthia Cargo and Mahdavi on Monday by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The charges relate to the alleged unlicensed re-export of US-export controlled aircraft parts to Iran, the Treasury said. An affidavit filed in court by an FBI agent to support the criminal charges alleges that Mahdavi, managing director of Parthia Cargo, in 2017 acknowledged to US officials that he knew a US government licence was needed to ship US aircraft parts to Iran.
But Mahdavi went ahead and shipped an aircraft part to an Iranian air transport company without obtaining a licence, the Justice Department said. It accused Mahdavi and Parthia Cargo of criminally conspiring with companies and individuals outside the US and falsely telling a US parts supplier goods would not be shipped to Iran without US government permission.